When starting a website or blog, the owner of such a site must determine whether or not they will allow users to comment on pages or posts. The upside is customer and potential customer or constituent engagement. Social media, after all, is about being social.
The downside is significant too. Comment spam needs to be battled, but there are plugins, modules and free services that can handle the spam. Nasty and mean-spirited comments devalue your website. Monitoring and culling these valueless comments can be time-consuming and expensive. A recent Mashable article addresses the issues in a coherent manner.
The bottom line, like most things with designing and operating a website is to determine what your goals are for it and what resources you can dedicate to it. If you are interested in a website, please contact me to discuss what we can accomplish together.